They left home chasing a livelihood. They never came back.
Two young men from Assam’s Bongaigaon district have died in an accident while working on a project in Telangana, sending shockwaves through their families and the local community back home. The deceased have been identified as Kasem Ali and Muktar Sheikh — both residents of Bongaigaon — who had travelled hundreds of kilometres to the southern state in search of work, as countless young men from Northeast India do every single year.
The accident occurred while the two were engaged in a project in Telangana. Exact details about the location, the nature of the project, and the precise circumstances that led to their deaths are still awaited. Authorities are yet to release a comprehensive account of what happened. But for the families waiting back in Bongaigaon, the details almost don’t matter anymore. Their sons are gone.
The news has hit the community hard. Bongaigaon, a district with deep economic pressures, sees a steady stream of young men migrating to other states — Maharashtra, Kerala, Telangana, Tamil Nadu — often to construction sites, factories, and infrastructure projects where the pay is better but the risks are just as real. Kasem and Muktar were part of that same silent wave of migration, young men doing what they had to do to keep their families going.
That’s the part that doesn’t make headlines often enough. The sheer number of workers from Assam and other parts of the Northeast who leave home every year, work in difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions far away, and whose fates often only become news when something goes tragically wrong. There’s a whole ecosystem of labour migration happening quietly beneath the surface of this country, and incidents like this one tear it into plain sight.
The deaths have plunged both families into grief. Neighbours and community members in Bongaigaon have gathered to mourn, offering what little comfort they can to parents, siblings, and relatives who are now grappling not just with loss, but with the added cruelty of distance — their loved ones died far from home, in a state they may never have visited themselves.
At this stage, there is no official word on when the bodies will be brought back to Assam, or whether local authorities or the state government have reached out to the families. These are the questions that inevitably arise in such situations, and the answers often don’t come fast enough. The process of repatriating mortal remains from one state to another can be slow, bureaucratic, and exhausting for grieving families who are already broken.
It is too early to say whether any employer or contracting body will be held accountable for the accident, or whether the workers were covered under any form of labour insurance. These are the questions that must be asked and answered — not just for Kasem Ali and Muktar Sheikh, but for every migrant worker who puts their life on the line far from home.
Two young men went to Telangana to build something. Instead, everything back home in Bongaigaon came undone. Their story, like so many others, deserves to be more than just a headline that disappears by morning.
